11 die of heatstroke at Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony

In a shocking tragedy, at least eleven persons - who had come to attend the grand Maharashtra Bhushan awards ceremony in the satellite township of Navi Mumbai on Sunday - have died of heat stroke and dehydration.

At least 50 others are undergoing treatment in various hospitals in Navi Mumbai and Raigad districts.

The Maharashtra Bhushan Award was conferred to the well-known social worker, Dattatreya Narayan Dharmadhikari, popularly known as Appasaheb Dharmadhikari.

The function was held at the Corporate Park at Kharghar in Navi Mumbai, senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah presented the award in the presence of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The ground was packed with people belonging to Shree Sadasya, the movement of the Dharmadhikari-family.

The award comprised a shawl, a citation and memento and a cheque of Rs 25 lakh, which Dharmadhikari donated to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.

Unconfirmed reports put the figures of death and those undergoing treatment much higher.

The majority of the patients are undergoing treatment at MGM Hospital at Kamothe in Navi Mumbai.

Also Read: Sea of humanity gathers to honour Appasaheb Dharmadhikari

“I spoke to the doctors, patients and their families….what has happened is very unfortunate…eleven people have died, around 50 are undergoing treatment, who are now stable,” Shinde told reporters after rushing to the hospital.

Shinde announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased and that the medical expenses of those would be taken care of by the state government.

Lakhs of people from the four corners of Maharashtra and neighbouring states had gone to attend the event.

They had come to Navi Mumbai in buses, trucks, cars, jeeps and even by boats. Some of them reached on Saturday itself.

The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi has targeted the Shinde-Fadnavis government for holding the function during the day when the state was reeling under heat.

State Congress President Nana Patole said that the government is solely responsible for this and it should be booked for culpable homicide. “They should resign,” Patole said.

NCP national spokesperson Clyde Crasto said that Shinde owes an answer. “News of lives lost due to heat after attending the Maharashtra Bhushan award programme organised by the incumbent Maharashtra government in Kharghar is disturbing. With day temperatures soaring so high, why was this function held in the open?,” he asked.

Over the last few days, there were reports that around 20 lakh people would come to attend the programme.

On Sunday, IMD-Mumbai’s Colaba and Santacruz observatories recorded 32.4 degrees Celsius and 34.1 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Meanwhile, the state’s Cultural Affairs Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said that people have a love for the Dharmadhikari family and have come in huge numbers.